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‘It is painful to welcome Ramadan without prayers in mosques’ King: We must continue to work hard to overcome this difficult time

(April 23, 2020 | Saudi Gazette report)  RIYADH  Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman greeted Muslims in the Kingdom and the entire world on the advent of the holy month of Ramadan. In an address, delivered on his behalf by Acting Minister of Media Majed Al-Qasabi, the King underscored the need to continue to work hard to overcome this difficult time caused by coronavirus pandemic. The Monarch expressed sorrow over the difficulties caused to the smooth performance of rituals during the month of Ramadan due to the outbreak of the pandemic.

“To tell you the truth, it pains me to welcome the glorious month of Ramadan under circumstances that forbid us from performing congregational prayers and the Ramadan prayers of taraweeh and Qiyamullail in houses of God.

“All this is due to the precautionary measures taken to save human lives and their wellbeing in confronting the coronavirus pandemic,” he said while emphasizing that the provisions of the Islamic Shariah made safeguarding human lives an extremely significant thing.

“Ramadan has entered this year while we are living in circumstances that have extreme impact on the entire humanity and we are passing through the difficult and sensitive phase of world history due to the outbreak of the pandemic, despite the measures taken by countries of the world and humanitarian organizations to prevent its spread,” he said. He added that the Kingdom is keen to serve the citizens and expatriates as well as to ensure their safety.

Referring to the Kingdom’s sublime position in serving the Two Holy Mosques, the King said: “Among the nations, we are bestowed by God with the great honor and dignity to serve His Great House, and His Prophet’s Mosque  a service that we honor and strive to fulfill it, with hosting the guests of God, including Haj and Umrah pilgrims and visitors, and keeping awake for their comfort. We are also proud of the string of precautionary measures taken by the Kingdom to limit the spread of the coronavirus pandemic,” he said.

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Ramadan prayers banned at Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque due to virus

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque compound will be closed to Muslim worshippers throughout the holy fasting month of Ramadan due to the coronavirus epidemic, Muslim clerics at Islam’s third-holiest site said. The decision to ban Muslim prayer at the 35-acre complex, revered by Jews as the Temple Mount and site of the Jewish temples of antiquity, extends a March 23 ban on Muslim prayer there.

In a statement, the Jordan-appointed council that oversees Islamic sites on the sacred compound called the decision “painful” but said it was “in line with legal fatwas (clerical opinions) and medical advice”.

Muslims should “perform prayers in their homes during the month of Ramadan, to preserve their safety,” the council said.

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The most famous university, The Harvard University declared the Quran with its divine words……….

The most famous university, The Harvard University declared the Quran with its divine words, the book which is the words of Allah almighty as the best book for seeking Justice in any matter of Human life, either it is crime, dowry, domestic abuses, and others.

Harvard University is one of the best university in the world and as well as in the entire USA, declaration of Quran as the best book for Justice by this reputation and most famous authority of Harvard University is a matter of importance for those who do not believe that the Holy Quran is the final revelation to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) by Allah for whole of the mankind till the doomsday.

As you all know that In Islam, the Muslims are guided by a law known as “The Sharia” law, the Holy Quran provides the basic structure of this sharia law to be enacted in the matters of Muslims to get them to resolve.

The entrance gate of the faculty of Law, Harvard University witnessed an ayah from Surah Nisa, which explains that it is among the best way of seeking justice in the past. Harvard Law school is one of the most prominent law schools in the entire world and the library of this law school is the biggest academic library in the entire world for the faculty of Law.

The ayah which has been attached at the entranceway of the library of Law school in the Harvard University states ” AYAH number 135 from (Surah-Nisa) the women, Human being to stick firmly by justice. (Quran, Surah An-Nisa 4:135) reference

May ALLAH give the Muslims the best in this Dunya and on the day of judgment, and flourish the authority of Muslims in the entire world.

We hope by reading this article many people who do not believe in the Holy Quran, may get inspired and start learning about the Holy Quran, we also wish that this article may lead them to revert into a Muslim.

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Reporters without borders says It’s virtually impossible to report from occupied Kashmir

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in its latest World Press Freedom Index report has noted that it has become “virtually impossible” for journalists to report from the Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) and pushed India two spots down from last year to 142. The report noted India’s score in this year’s index was heavily affected by the situation in IoK as India has made it “virtually impossible” for reporting after New Delhi revoked the region’s autonomy on August 5 of last year.

While noting the difficulties for reporting from the region, the group called Kashmir a “vast open prison” due to shutting down of fixed line and mobile Internet connections by the Narendra Modi-led government.

The RSF also stated that there were constant press freedom violations in the country, including police violence against journalists, ambushes by political activists, and reprisals instigated by criminal groups or corrupt local officials.

“Ever since the general elections in the spring of 2019, won overwhelmingly by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, pressure on the media to toe the Hindu nationalist government’s line has increased,” said the report.

The RSF stated that the coordinated hate campaigns launched on social media against journalists who speak or write about subjects that annoy Hindutva followers are alarming. It noted that the campaigns also call for the journalists concerned to be murdered.

“The campaigns are particularly virulent when the targets are women. Criminal prosecutions are meanwhile often used to gag journalists critical of the authorities, with some prosecutors invoking Section 124a of the penal code, under which “sedition” is punishable by life imprisonment,” said the report.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has been ranked at 145 on the index, two spots down from last year. While Norway has topped the index for the fourth year in a row and Finland has been ranked as the runner-up

On the other hand, North Korea has taken the last position from Turkmenistan, while Eritrea (178th) continues to be Africa’s worst-ranked country.                   (Source: The News International)

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Global hunger could double due to coronavirus pandemic: UN

COVID-19 is likely to leave 130 million people acutely hungry this year, adding to 135 million already in the category.

The number of people facing acute food insecurity could nearly double this year to 265 million due to the economic fallout of COVID-19, according to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). The impact of lost tourism revenues, falling remittances and travel and other restrictions linked to the coronavirus pandemic is expected to leave about 130 million more people acutely hungry this year, in addition to 135 million already in that category, the WFP said in a new report on Tuesday 21 April.

“COVID-19 is potentially catastrophic for millions who are already hanging by a thread,” said Arif Husain, chief economist and director of research, assessment and monitoring at the WFP. “We all need to come together to deal with this because if we don’t the cost will be too high – the global cost will be too high: many lost lives and many, many more lost livelihoods,” he told reporters at a virtual briefing in Geneva. Husain said it was critical to act quickly to prevent people already living hand-to-mouth from selling their assets as it could take them years to become self-reliant again. In some cases, such as when farmers sell their ploughs or oxen, it could have knock-on effects for food production for years to come, he added.

“These were the people we were concerned about – those who were OK before COVID and now they are not,” he said, adding he was “really worried” about people living in countries with little or no government safety nets.

“Acute food and livelihood crisis” is category three of five UN phases, meaning a “critical lack of food access and above usual malnutrition”.

Category 5 means mass starvation. UN officials did not give a geographical breakdown of the growing needs but said that Africa was likely to be hardest hit. The WFP expects to need $10-$12bn to fund its assistance programmes this year compared to a record $8.3bn raised last year, Husain added. It plans to pre-position food stocks over the coming months in anticipation of growing needs.   (AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES)

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Corona virus: UN General Assembly meetings scheduled for next few months postponed

The UN General Assembly meetings scheduled for the next few months have been postponed due to the COVID- 19 pandemic and the Member States are holding discussions on how to proceed with the high-level annual UNGA session in September, a senior official has said. The office of the President of the 74th Session of the General Assembly said that it has been decided to postpone the 14th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, scheduled to take place in Kyoto, Japan, from April 20 to 27, until further notice.

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Israeli TV says US intel warned IDF & NATO of Coronavirus threat in NOVEMBER 2019, doubling down on claims dismissed by… US intel

(17 Apr, 2020) American intelligence passed an early warning about the coronavirus to Tel Aviv and NATO as far back as November, Israel’s Channel 12 claims, even after a top US medical intel officer dismissed a similar report just last week.

The broadcaster aired a story on Thursday alleging that the US intelligence community shared classified information about a new viral outbreak in China with the Israeli military and senior NATO officials. With nobody willing to go on record to confirm the report, however, the story is based on murky anonymous sourcing, leaving it a mystery where the claim originated.

“Still in November, the IDF held a first discussion regarding what impact this unknown disease would have were it to reach the Middle East. How would we be affected? How would it affect our neighbors?” the Channel 12 broadcast said, as cited by i24 News.

A similar report from ABC last week stated that the Pentagon’s National Center for Medical Intelligence (NCMI) warned that an outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan could become a “cataclysmic event” in a document compiled last November. But the story was swiftly shot down by NCMI director Colonel R. Shane Day, who insisted “No such NCMI product exists” and that the report was simply “not correct.”

President Donald Trump  who was said to have been alerted to the alleged NCMI document but chose not to act on the intelligence  ran a victory lap over ABC after Day’s denial, gloating in a tweet that the news outlet “knew they were wrong when they went with this Hoax of a story!”

Much like the ABC report, the Channel 12 story alleges the US government was provided the information, yet “did not deem it of interest,” also stating Israeli health officials were made aware, but still “nothing was done” to prepare for the impending pandemic. With a series of mostly anonymous claims and denials from dueling intelligence sources, as well as purported classified documents nobody in the public has actually laid eyes on, it remains unclear exactly when the American intel community caught wind of China’s epidemic.

The latest uncorroborated reports have further fueled the rage of the US president’s critics, who say the Trump administration knew of a coming disaster months in advance but did nothing to keep Americans safe, added to a barrage of criticisms in US media constantly slamming the government’s response to the crisis as sluggish and inept.

But as speculation swirls in the press, the White House has begun offering its own novel theories on early knowledge of the virus, tacitly encouraging rumors of its lab origins and alleging Beijing “covered-up” the outbreak in Wuhan with help from the World Health Organization, going as far as to freeze US funding to the agency while the administration “reviews” the alleged Chinese conspiracy.

Beijing and the WHO have rejected Washington’s claims as baseless, insisting they provided timely and transparent information about the virus as soon as it was available  both even creating timelines detailing their response step-by-step  while the United Nations and much of the world have warned all sides to not politicize the pandemic.    (Source: RT News)

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US military wants to build mobile micro reactor in Idaho

The U.S. Department of Defense wants to build a prototype advanced mobile nuclear micro reactor at the Idaho National Laboratory in eastern Idaho, saying they are needed to ensure the military’s energy supply. The micro reactor would be capable of producing one to 10 megawatts. A megawatt can power from about 400 to 900 homes, depending on energy consumption that is dependent on such things as air conditioning. The department says it wants to reduce reliance on local electric grids, which are highly vulnerable to prolonged outages from a variety of threats.

The department is considering building the micro reactor at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory in eastern Tennessee would also take part. The Defense Department said the specific design of the prototype micro reactor won’t be known while preparing an environmental review, so impacts from a variety of designs will be considered. The department said the prototype is expected to be a small advanced gas reactor using enriched uranium for fuel and would be air-cooled. The type of enriched uranium to be used would be encapsulated and can withstand high temperature, allowing for a safe prototype reactor.

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Two US warships in South China Sea amid China-Malaysia standoff

USS America and USS Bunker Hill sailed near a Chinese research ship spotted close to a Petronas exploration vessel.

(21 April 2020)  The US Navy has confirmed  that two US warships are operating in the South China Sea, with three regional security sources saying they were near an area of a standoff between China and Malaysia.

The Haiyang Dizhi 8, a Chinese government research ship, was spotted last week conducting a survey close to an exploration vessel operated by Malaysia’s state oil company Petronas, months after it undertook a similar patrol off Vietnam. The incident prompted the US to call on China to stop its “bullying behaviour” in the disputed waters, citing concern over Beijing’s provocative actions towards offshore oil and gas developments there.

The US State Department has said China was taking advantage of the region’s focus on the coronavirus pandemic to “coerce its neighbours”. The USS America amphibious assault ship and the USS Bunker Hill, a guided-missile cruiser, have been deployed and were operating in the South China Sea, US Indo-Pacific Command spokeswoman Nicole Schwegman said.

“Through our continued operational presence in the South China Sea, we are working … to promote freedom of navigation and overflight, and the international principles that underpin security and prosperity for the Indo-Pacific,” Schwegman said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

“The US supports the efforts of our allies and partners to determine their own economic interests.”

Rear Admiral Fred Kacher, commander of the USS America Expeditionary Strike Group, told Reuters that his forces had interacted with Chinese naval forces in the South China Sea this week.

“All our interactions continue to be safe and professional with them,” Kacher said in a telephone interview from the USS America.              (Source:  Al Jazeera News Agency)

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Trump instructs US Navy to shoot down and destroy all Iranian gunboats if they ‘harass our ships at sea’

(22 Apr, 2020) President Donald Trump has ordered the US Navy to “shoot down and destroy” Iranian gunboats, should they harass American vessels at sea. His declaration comes after a confrontation in the Persian Gulf. “I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea,” the president.

A week earlier, the US Navy accused the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) of “dangerous and provocative” actions, claiming that nearly a dozen Iranian vessels buzzed a group of American ships in the Persian Gulf. The US Fifth Fleet later published video footage of the encounter, which showed the gunboats circling a larger US ship.

Tehran brushed off the accusations, disputing the “Hollywood” scenario portrayed by the US. The Iranian government considers US naval activity in the gulf highly provocative, and condemned the patrol as “adventurism.”

The US and Iran almost came to war at the beginning of the year, when the US assassinated General Qassem Soleimani with a drone strike at an airport in Baghdad, apparently in retribution for a series of Iranian-sponsored attacks on US bases in Iraq. However, tension in the Persian Gulf has been high since last summer, when the US and its Western allies blamed Iran for a series of sabotage attacks on oil infrastructure in the region.

US-led naval patrols were stepped up, and American troops and air defense systems were sent to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Based in nearby Bahrain, the US Fifth Fleet has been active in the gulf both before and since the flareup last year. The US insists patrols are essential to protect shipping routes against Iran’s “malign behavior.”(RT NEWS)

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US oil price below zero for first time in history Collapse in demand leaves traders trying to clear unwanted crude

David Sheppard, Myles McCormick, Anjli Raval and Derek Brower in London and Hudson Lockett in Hong Kong

US oil prices crashed into negative territory for the first time in history as the evaporation of demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic left the world awash with oil and not enough storage capacity  meaning producers are paying buyers to take it off their hands. West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, traded as low as -$40.32 a barrel in a day of chaos in oil markets. The settlement price on Monday 13 April, was -$37.63, compared to $18.27 on Friday 17 April. Traders capitulated in the face of limited access to storage capacity across the US, including the country’s main delivery point of Cushing, Oklahoma. The collapse will be a blow to Donald Trump, who has gone to great lengths to protect the oil sector, including backing moves by Opec and Russia to cut production and pledging support for the industry. After the price drop, Mr Trump reiterated plans for the US to open the federally-controlled strategic petroleum reserve to store excess oil that cannot find a home in commercial storage facilities. Congress refused to fund federal purchases of crude oil when the White House first proposed the idea several weeks ago, but the Department of Energy has also considered the possibility of leasing capacity to producers. “We’re filling up our national petroleum reserves, the strategic reserves, and we’re looking to put as much as 75m barrels into the reserves themselves that would top it out,” Mr Trump said at his daily news conference. “We’re going to either ask for permission to buy it, or we’ll store it, one way or the other, it will be full.”(Source: Financial  Times)

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First public map reveals military bases with corona virus cases as pentagon secrecy draws backlash

Than 150 military bases in 41 states have been hit with corona virus, according to new information exclusively obtained by Newsweek. The Pentagon on Tuesday also said that the armed forces had surpassed 3,000 cases, more than doubling their number of people tested positive for corona virus in less than a week’s time. The scope of geographic spread among the military in the United States mirrors the civilian world and also shows few signs of abating. The continued spread of corona virus throughout the military, both in the United States and at overseas bases, has halted all non-essential movement, interrupted recruiting and basic training, and led to a virtual standstill in large scale activity. It has also led to draconian secrecy, justified as necessary to preserve operational security. But that policy of secrecy is now getting strong pushback, both from the communities around military bases as well as from lawmakers.

The latest Defense Department data show that 2,120 men and women in uniform have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. The hardest hit service is the U.S. Navy, followed closely by the Army, Air Force, and finally the Marine Corps. Civilians working for the department make up the second largest overall group after those in uniform, followed by military dependents, and then by private contractors working at military facilities. In the 41 states where the Defense Department reports corona virus, nine states show over 100 cases in the larger military communities. Some of the hardest hit are the naval base complexes of San Diego, Norfolk, Virginia; and Jacksonville, Florida; the San Antonio, Texas area bases; and the naval bases of Washington state. A large number of cases are also being handled at Andrews air force base in Maryland and reflect medical support for military workers assigned throughout the Washington, DC area. Training facilities where recruits receive their basic training in San Antonio and San Diego; and at the Army’s Ft. Jackson, South Carolina are also other hotspots.

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Chinese arms to help Nigeria combat terrorists

China and Nigeria are strengthening their military-technical cooperation: 17 Chinese armoured vehicles have been unloaded at the port of Lagos under a new contract signed in 2019. The contract, worth $152 million, was signed following a tender that was won by the China Ordnance Industries Group Corporation, known as Norinco. The first batch of armoured vehicles delivered to Nigeria includes VT-4 tanks, a new generation of battle tanks with a range of over 500 kilometres, wheeled new generation self-propelled ST1 lightweight tanks, and 122mm SH2 self-propelled howitzers. Nigeria previously received the first set of spare parts and supplies for this equipment, which was delivered in 15 40-foot shipping containers.

There are several reasons why China is chosen as a partner in military-technical cooperation in Africa. First of all, China offers an excellent price-quality ratio for its weaponry. For example, the VT-4 third-generation battle tank has high manoeuvrability, good protection and powerful weapons. These vehicles were exported to Thailand and were highly appreciated by the Royal Court. It can be said that they have good quality and moderate price. According to the surveys, 70 percent of Nigerians have friendly feelings towards China and appreciate Sino- Nigerian cooperation. Nigeria has the largest Chinese language newspaper in Africa. The domestic market is dominated by Chinese goods, and for Nigerians, China is the most popular tourist destination. Cooperation between the two sides is mutually beneficial and extremely useful.

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Russia’s hallmark mobile missiles touted as ‘ultimate weapon’  

By US national security outlet

The Russian military’s hallmark feature – road-mobile missile carriers – can be observed both on Red Square during Russia’s Victory Day parades on 9 May and in service with a number of post-Soviet militaries, boasting mobility advantages over silo-based counterparts. Russia, a major power in the development of missiles of all kinds, currently boasts a broad inventory of ballistic and cruise missiles, having inherited a substantive arsenal from Soviet times only to greatly enhance and expand on it through a multitude of modernization programmes, writes The National Interest publication.

Citing the Center for International and Strategic Studies, Caleb Larson, defense writer for the outlet, singles out road-mobile missile carriers as the country’s hallmark feature, prided for their mobility advantage over silo-based missiles, albeit not as protected as their silo-based counterparts. Noting the great strides made by Russia towards producing new variants of weapons with significantly enhanced capabilities, the publication states that major advancements are also observed in the field of precision guided cruise missiles. There are a number of versions of the Scarab/Tochka missile system, first designed and fielded in 1975, in Russian military service, writes the publication. Designed to give battlefield commanders a range of flexible options on the battlefield, besides the standard high-explosive, the Scarab/Tochka missile can be equipped with anti-tank, anti-personnel, anti-runway, and anti-radar warheads, with a tactical nuclear warhead version also existing, suggests the author, with a believed adjustable nuclear yield of 10 – 100 kilotons.

​Gradually replacing the Scarab/Tochka missile platform is the Iskander missile, continues the author, suggesting that its slightly improved range and larger warhead are just some of its enhanced features. The missile trajectory of the Iskander is more depressed than the Scarab/Tochka system, with its guidance relying on a mix of GLONASS, inertial, and terrain-following radar. The SS-N-26 Yakhont is available in air-sea-and land-based variants, writes Caleb Larson for the outlet, adding that land-based Yakhont has successfully been exported to Indonesia and Vietnam.

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Iran launches its first military satellite Iran satellite launch ‘sends a message’ on failed US pressure

(22 April 2020) Iran has announced it successfully launched the country’s first military reconnaissance satellite after months of failures, a programme the United States alleges is a cover for missile development. “The first satellite of the Islamic Republic of Iran has been successfully launched into orbit by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps [IRGC],” said the elite forces’ official website on Wednesday 22 April 2020.

It said the satellite – dubbed the Nour – was deployed from the Qassed two-stage launcher from the Markazi desert, a vast expanse in Iran’s central plateau. The satellite “orbited the Earth at 425km [264 miles]”, said the website. “This action will be a great success and a new development in the field of space for Islamic Iran.”

The IRGC called it the first military satellite ever launched by Tehran. It used a Ghased, or “Messenger”, satellite carrier to put the device into space, a previously unheard-of system. As the world grapples with the coronavirus pandemic and historically low oil prices, the missile launch may signal a new willingness to take risks by Iran. “This raises a lot of red flags,” said Fabian Hinz, a researcher at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California. “Now that you have the [US] maximum pressure campaign, Iran doesn’t have that much to lose any more.”

Hinz said, based on state media images, the launch appeared to have happened at a previously unnamed IRGC base near Shahroud, Iran, some 330km (205 miles) northeast of Tehran. The base is in Semnan province, which hosts the Imam Khomeini Spaceport, from which Iran’s civilian space programme operates.         (Source: Al Jazeera)

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IRAN SAYS ITS MISSILES CAN HIT SHIPS MORE THAN 400 MILES AWAY, HAS BOATS THREE TIMES FASTER THAN U.S. NAVY

BY TOM O’CONNOR | 21 Apr. 2020

Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard announced enhanced capabilities for its naval fleet, including extended anti-ship missile range and faster vessels capable of outpacing its top rival, the United States.

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Navy commander Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri said Monday that his forces now “have a variety of surface-to-surface missiles with a range of 700 km [more than 430 miles] produced domestically.” He also touted the production of new warships, such as the 55-meter catamaran-style helicopter carrier inaugurated in 2016, along with other vessels that are said to be capable of reading speeds of up to 90 knots, or “three times faster than American vessels.”

“Wherever the Americans have been present, insecurity has arisen, and we do not know where the presence of the United States has led to security,” Tangsiri said.

He referenced the recent encounter in which up to 11 armed Revolutionary Guard fast-attack craft appeared to approach and circle ships of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet in the Persian Gulf, arguing that “contrary to international regulations, the Americans blocked the way for our vessels and refused to respond to the radio, which was met with a powerful confrontation by our forces.”

Iran has two seaborne forces deployed to the Persian Gulf, that of the Revolutionary Guard and that of the country’s conventional armed forces. Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi, commander of Iran’s regular navy, also praised the country’s domestic defense industry on Friday and discussed plans to develop a nuclear-powered submarine to challenge U.S. forces that already uses such technology in the Persian Gulf.

Tangsiri warned  that any incident involving nuclear ships could contaminate the waters of the Persian Gulf, proving disastrous not only for international shipping but the water resources of Arab states relying on desalination plants.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard had announced anti-ship capabilities ranging up to only 300 kilometers, or about 186 miles. A report published by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency mentioned models such as the Khalij Fars, Hormuz 1 and Hormuz 2, which are based on the Fateh-110 short-range ballistic missile and could pose a major threat if combined with Iran’s militarized speedboat fleet and other Iranian military assets.

“Its swarms of small boats, large inventory of naval mines, and arsenal of antiship missiles can severely disrupt maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz—a strategic chokepoint critical to global trade,” DIA Director Robert P. Ashley Jr. said of Iran’s military in a preface to the November report. “Each of these forces are becoming increasingly survivable, precise, and responsive.”(Source: Newsweek)

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Iran says they have 400 US targets picked out if US moves against them

A top Iranian general on Friday 24 April, revealed the nation’s plan to attack 400 U.S. targets if the U.S. military responded to Iran’s attack on Al-Assad Air Base in January. “The day, we attacked on Ain al-Asad, we thought the US forces would respond after 20 minutes, so we were ready to attack 400 American targets,” Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh told Iranian state media Mehr News.

“Our plan was to attack 400 US targets if they responded,” he added, though he did not reveal any specific targets.

Iran had launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles against U.S. troops at Al-Assad and Irbil air bases in Iraq on January 7.

At the time, Iran confirmed they were behind the attacks, which they described as revenge for the U.S. airstrike that killed IRGC Quds Force Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Iran issued a warning after the strikes, saying, “We are warning all American allies, who gave their bases to its terrorist army, that any territory that is the starting point of aggressive acts against Iran will be targeted.”

Hajizadeh said on Friday that Iran’s January attack made the U.S. feel “somewhat threatened.”

“By assassinating Lt. Gen. Soleimani, [the US] wanted to show that they killed a symbol of Resistance, and they were sure that Iran would not respond to their attack,” he said. “But we responded to them by an attack on Ain al-Asad base in Iraq.”

Hajizadeh bragged about Iran’s “great achievements” in missile and defense, and its newfound success in launching a military satellite, which the U.S. had said Iran is using for nuclear missile technology.

“[Iran’s] satellite launch vehicle and others launched before it incorporates technologies identical to, and interchangeable with, ballistic missiles, including longer-range systems such as intercontinental ballistic missiles,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Saturday.

“I have to say that the obstacles have been removed from our path and from now on we will move faster,” Haijzadeh said on Friday. Although he did not elaborate on what those “obstacles” consisted of, it could be a reference to the nuclear agreement the U.S. withdrew from in 2018, which Iran has also been turning away from.

Iran also recently bragged about its expanded missile range, and threatened to “destroy” U.S. warships if the U.S. Navy threatens Iranian gunboats. The saber-rattling comes just days after President Trump issued a similar warning in authorizing the U.S. Navy to “shoot down and destroy” any Iranian gunboats threatening U.S. warships.

Trump’s directive came a week after 11 Iranian gunboats harassed six U.S. warships conducting joint operations in international waters of the Arabian Gulf.              (Source: American Military news)

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Ww3 Nuclear plot: Iran may use corona virus crisis for secret nuclear weapon gain

Dr. Pupak Mohebali an expert from Iran International, noted Tehran could use the confusion and restriction of travel on corona virus to acquire more nuclear material. “Now the hot topic of corona virus in Iran. “It definitely has had an impact on Iran’s policies, at all levels and not just the nuclear accords.” “Whether this is good or bad for the West is currently uncertain. “This is because of the concerns of further spread of corona virus. “If IAEA cannot have its investigators in Iran at the moment it may cause problems. “It won’t be easy for the IAEA to know the scope of Iran’s nuclear activities during this time and ultimately this could cause a lot of issues in the future.”

Bushehr nuclear power plant shut down to get new fuel

Reza Banazadeh the head of the nuclear plant told that Iran’s nuclear power plant near the southern port city of Bushehr has been shut down for periodic maintenance, as its reactor is going to receive fresh fuel. He noted that one-third of the fuel used in the plant’s reactor will be replaced. He also highlighted the precautionary measures taken in the plant following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, saying the pandemic has not done any harm to the activities of the power plant.

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U.S. to Argue It Never Left Iran Nuke Deal, in Bid to Force Arms Embargo

Secretary of State Pompeo’s reported move is ‘part of an intricate strategy to pressure the United Nations Security Council to extend an arms embargo on Tehran’

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is reportedly laying the groundwork to present a legal argument to the United Nations that the U.S. remains a “participant state” in the Obama-era Iran nuclear accord that President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled out of in May 2018.  Pompeo’s reported move is “part of an intricate strategy to pressure the United Nations Security Council to extend an arms embargo on Tehran,” according to an article in the New York Times.

The Times explained that at a moment when both Russia and China have expressed interest in restarting conventional arms sales to Iran, the move will allow the U.S. to reactivate UN sanctions on Iran in the event the UN Security Council does not extend the arms embargo. If the U.S. can reactivate the “snapback” provision of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal it could restore the UN sanctions on Iran that were in place before the accord – which are binding for all UN member states, which includes Russia and China. The arms embargo, which will begin to expire in October, was part of a UN Security Council resolution that approved the nuclear accord, and suspended years of UN-imposed sanctions.

The Times notes that Pompeo’s strategy may also be to further discredit the 2015 nuclear deal if the move fails, which the administration believes will force Iranian leadership into negotiating a new accord.  Critics were quick to point out the various times Pompeo and other administration officials, including  U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook, had publicly stated the U.S. had exited the deal. U.S.-Iranian relations have been bitter since the Islamic Revolution toppled the U.S.-backed Shah of Iran in 1979 and ushered in an era of theocratic rule. Tensions flared up after Trump pulled out the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and reimposed U.S. sanctions that have crippled the Iranian economy.

Worsening tensions, a Jan. 3 U.S. drone strike in Iraq killed Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force. It also killed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who founded Iraq’s Shi’ite Kataib Hezbollah militia after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

U.S. renewed a waiver for Iraq to continue importing Iranian electricity, a State Department official said, but this time for a shorter period of 30 days, adding that Washington would be reassessing whether to renew again once a ‘credible government’ is formed in Iraq.

“The Secretary granted this brief extension of the waiver to allow time for the formation of a credible government,” a State Department official said, referring to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and added that the waiver would expire on May 26.

Ties between Washington and Baghdad have been strained as the United States said it was disappointed that Iraqi forces have failed to protect the U.S. forces stationed in Iraq. They have come under multiple rocket attacks this year alone, for which the United States blames the Iran-backed militia. The State Department official said the waiver granted by Pompeo applied only to electricity and referred to the Treasury Department for transactions related to Iranian natural gas imports. (Source: Haaretz)

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India has planned genocide of Muslims

For what it is worth, the notion that India will organise a Rwanda type genocide in Kashmir and Assam appears to be far fetched. Apart from other factors, the sheer scale involved is too large. The last time it was allowed to happen was in East Punjab after Partition. Hindu and Sikh mobs, up to five thousand strong, were given a free hand to kill at will. It took them four months to empty the province of Muslims, The total number killed was estimated to be around one million, including those who died of disease. The rest escaped to Pakistan.

In this case, we are looking at a total of about 25 to 30 million Muslims. They have nowhere to go. To kill them all or even a substantial number of them will require a huge operation spread over years. This is not within the realm of possibilities in modern times (the killing of six million Jews by the Nazis is a myth). More than that, unlike Germany, India is a divided country. Not all parts of her support BJPs extreme vision. Her army is a professional force that will be most reluctant to participate in any such atrocity.

There will be other, both internal and external factors that will bear on the issue. It will be very foolish if Modi government were to attempt any such thing. Even if he did, it wouldn’t have much traction. Most likely, he is only aiming to reduce Muslim majorities in the two states along the lines of what China did in Manchuria, Inner Mongolia and is now attempting to do in Sinkiang.

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India should be placed on religious freedom blacklist: US panel

(30 Apr. 2020) Al Jazeera News

India protests as US Commission on International Religious Freedom puts it on ‘countries of particular concern’ list.

A US government panel has called for India to be put on a religious freedom blacklist over a “drastic” downturn under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, triggering a sharp rebuttal from New Delhi.

In an annual report published on Tuesday 28 April, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said India should join the ranks of “countries of particular concern” that would be subject to sanctions if they do not improve their records.

“In 2019, religious freedom conditions in India experienced a drastic turn downward, with religious minorities under increasing assault,” the report said.

The bipartisan panel recommends but does not set policy, and there is virtually no chance the State Department will follow its lead on India, an increasingly close US ally.

But the lower ranking for the ally amounts to a stark show of disapproval of India’s divisive new citizenship law, which the United Nations has called “fundamentally discriminatory”.

Trump declined to criticize the law during his February visit to India, where his meeting with Modi was punctuated by the worst violence in decades in New Delhi, in which 53 people, mostly Muslims, were killed.

‘Allowed violence against minorities’

The commission, by contrast, is empowered as an independent arbiter to look only at nations’ religious freedom records, apart from their relationship with the US, Vice-Chair at USCIRF Nadine Maenza said.

Beyond the citizenship law, Maenza said in an interview, India has a broader “move toward clamping down on religious minorities that’s really troublesome”.

It called on the US to impose punitive measures, including visa bans on Indian officials believed responsible and grant funding to civil society groups that monitor hate speech.

The commission said Modi’s Hindu nationalist government, which won a convincing election victory last year, “allowed violence against minorities and their houses of worship to continue with impunity, and also engaged in and tolerated hate speech and incitement to violence.”

It pointed to comments by Home Minister Amit Shah, who notoriously referred to mostly Muslim migrants as “termites,” and to a citizenship law that has triggered nationwide protests.

It also highlighted the revocation of the autonomy of Kashmir, which was India’s only Muslim-majority state, and allegations that Delhi police turned a blind eye to mobs who attacked Muslim neighbourhoods in February this year.

The Indian government, which has long been irritated by the commission’s comments, quickly rejected the report.

“Its biased and tendentious comments against India are not new. But on this occasion, its misrepresentation has reached new levels,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said.

“We regard it as an organisation of particular concern and will treat it accordingly,” he said in a statement.

The State Department designates nine “countries of particular concern” on religious freedom – China, Eritrea, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

The commission asked that all nine countries remain on the list. In addition to India, it sought the inclusion of four more – Nigeria, Russia, Syria and Vietnam.

Pakistan, India’s historic rival, was added by the State Department in 2018 after years of appeals by the commission. In its latest report, the commission said Pakistan “continued to trend negatively,” voicing alarm at forced conversions of Hindus and other minorities, the abuse of blasphemy prosecutions and a ban on the Ahmadi sect calling itself Muslim.

Citizenship law ‘tipping point’

India’s citizenship law fast-tracks naturalisation for minorities from neighbouring countries – but not if they are Muslim. Modi’s government says it is not aimed at Muslims but rather providing refuge to persecuted people and should be commended.

But critics consider it a watershed move by Modi to define the world’s largest democracy as a Hindu nation and chip away at independent India’s founding principle of secularism. Tony Perkins, the commission’s chair, called the law a “tipping point” and voiced concern about a registry in the northeastern state of Assam, under which 1.9 million people failed to produce documentation to prove that they were Indian citizens before 1971, when mostly Muslim migrants flowed in during Bangladesh’s bloody war of independence. “The intentions of the national leaders are to bring this about throughout the entire country,” Perkins told an online news conference.

“You could potentially have 100 million people, mostly Muslims, left stateless because of their religion. That would be, obviously, an international issue,” said Perkins, a conservative Christian activist known for his opposition to gay rights who is close to President Donald Trump’s administration. Trump has hailed Modi and himself called for a ban on all Muslim immigration to the US when he campaigned for president. But for the first time in years, India has been facing substantial criticism in the US Congress(SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES)

 

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Indian Navy ‘prepared for immediate deployment’ amid china’s increased activities in region

In January, Indian Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh confirmed the constant presence of seven to eight People’s Liberation Army Navy warships in the Indian Ocean Region at any given time. Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue, the admiral warned: “If anyone operates in our region, they have to notify us first”. The Indian Navy on Tuesday asserted its war preparedness while stating that it has continued to maintain its operational vigil in the Indian Ocean Region by carrying out regular maritime surveillance missions by day and night.

The statement comes against the backdrop of movements of a Chinese aircraft carrier and warships through the Miyako Strait as part of a journey to the South China Sea. The Dornier squadron of the ENC, INAS 311, operating from the air station, has been undertaking regular maritime surveillance missions. Additionally, all other air assets have been kept mission-ready and prepared for immediate deployment should the need arise. The statement also mentioned the preparedness of the navy to support country’s civilian authorities to maintain the supply of essential goods during the unprecedented 40-day lockdown in the country.

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US State Department Clears Lightweight Torpedo, Harpoon Missile Sales to India

By Franz-Stefan Gady

The U.S. Department of State on April 13th  2020, cleared the possible sale of 10 AGM-84L Harpoon Block II air-launched missiles and 16 MK 54 lightweight torpedoes and related equipment for service on the Indian Navy’s Boeing P-8I Neptune advanced maritime patrol/anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft at an approximate combined cost of $155 million.

The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified U.S. Congress of the possible sales, which are still subject to congressional approval.

The proposed sales “will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to strengthen the U.S.-Indian strategic relationship and to improve the security of a major defensive partner, which continues to be an important force for political stability, peace, and economic progress in the Indo-Pacific and South Asia region,” a DSCA statement reads.

“The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.”

The AGM-84L Harpoon Block II is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, sea-skimming anti-ship/land-attack missile. “The Harpoon missile system will be integrated into the P-8I aircraft to conduct anti-surface warfare missions in defense of critical sea lanes while enhancing interoperability with the United States and other allied forces,” according to DSCA.  “The MK 54 Lightweight Torpedo will provide the capability to conduct anti-submarine warfare missions. India will use the enhanced capability as a deterrent to regional threats and to strengthen its homeland defense,” a separate DSCA statement notes. Included in the sale are also three Mk 54 exercise torpedoes. “India intends to utilize MK 54 Lightweight Torpedoes on its P-8I aircraft.” As I explained previously:

The P-8I is equipped with some of the most modern U.S. anti-submarine warfare (ASW) technology including a Telephonics APS-143 OceanEye aft radar system and a cutting-edge magnetic anomaly detector The APS-143 is not present on the original P-8A Poseidon in use by the U.S. Navy. The aircraft is also armed with U.S. weapons systems including Harpoon Block-II missiles, [and]  MK-54 lightweight torpedoes [next to others]. The aircraft are all data-linked with Indian submarines in order to have the capability to pass on information about enemy vessels.

The Indian Navy’s P-8I squadron (Indian Naval Air Squadron 312A) is stationed at naval air station Rajali in southern India and consists of eight aircraft. The Indian government and Boeing concluded a $2.1 billion contract for the purchase of eight P-8I aircraft in 2009. The Indian Ministry of Defense (MoD) placed a $1.1. billion follow-on order for four additional P-8Is in 2016.

The Navy is expected to begin receiving the second batch of four aircraft this May. Additionally, the MoD approved the purchase of six more P-8Is in June 2019.                (Source: The diplomat | Asia Pacific)

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Costs More Than a Su-57? Tejas Single Engine Light Fighter

The Indian Air Force is set to finalise a deal to purchase 83 Tejas Mk1A lightweight single engine fighters, which will mark the second major order for the aircraft following a prior order for 40 jets. The Tejas began development in the early 1980s, and following massive delays and almost 40 years of work the aircraft was accorded final operational clearance (FOC) by India’s aviation certifying authority in February 2019. The fighter is from a comparable weight range to the Swedish Gripen and Pakistani JF-17 fighter, and is considerably lighter than higher end single engine designs such as the American F-16 Fighting Falcon and Chinese J-10 Firebird. While touted as an indigenous program, many of the Tejas’ core systems are purchased off the shelf from foreign suppliers including an American F404 engine – the same as that designed to power the F-20 Tigershark light fighter in the 1970s, an Israeli sensor suite and electronics, and Russian air to air missiles.

Development of a lightweight and low cost indigenous fighter has been pursued by a range of countries from Sweden to Taiwan from a number of reasons – allowing them not only to tailor the jet to the needs of their armed forces, develop high end technologies domestically and pursues their own design philosophies, but also because manufacturing jets domestically is usually a great deal cheaper than importing them at market prices. Considering the highly ambitious plans India has to expand its fighter fleet, which will require the induction of over a dozen new squadrons in the near future, a low cost lightweight indigenous jet would provide an effective means of doing so while remaining within the limits of the country’s defence budget. The only issue with this is that India’s Tejas, largely due to its reliance on very costly foreign technologies, is very far from a low cost fighter – with the recent order costing the Defence Ministry $62.7 million per airframe.

Purchasing the F404 and Israeli sensors and electronics at export prices, which are the most costly parts of the jet, the Tejas cannot be manufactured as a cheap indigenous platform as Pakistan’s JF-17, Taiwan’s Ching Kuo and Brave Eagle, China’s J-10 and JL-15 or America’s F-16 are. Using the American F-35A as an example of the discrepancy in the prices of domestically produced and exported fighters, the jet is being purchased by the Air Force for around $80 million each but is being marketed for export for around $200 million each. Similarly, while Russia’s Su-57 is currently the most costly non-Western fighter being marketed for export, with an estimated export price of around $110 million, it is being purchased by the Russian Air Force for just $35 million each. Compared to the prices Russia and the U.S. respectively are purchasing the Su-57 and F-35A, both state of the art fifth generation designs which are considerably heavier and more sophisticated

than the Tejas, the Indian fighter appears to present the country with much less value for money than previously thought.

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India is now the world’s third largest military spender

India’s military expenditure grew by 6.8% in 2019 as the country climbed up the rankings from fourth spot.

SNEHESH ALEX PHILIP|  27 April, 2020

New Delhi: With an expenditure of $71.1 billion in 2019, India has emerged as the third largest military spender in the world, just behind the US and China.  In a report published, Swedish think-tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said India’s expenditure grew by 6.8 per cent from 2018 and the country climbed up the rankings from its earlier fourth spot. Titled Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2019, the annual report said India’s tensions and rivalry with Pakistan and China were among the major drivers for its increased military spending. China, which is second on the list with an expense of $261 billion, saw a 5.1 per cent rise in its defence spending. This is the first time that the two Asian states have featured among the top three military spenders.

India’s expense rise : India’s military expenses have risen significantly over the past few decades. Over the 30-year period between 1990 and 2019, its spending grew by 259 per cent. In 2010-19 decade, the expenses grew by 37 per cent, the report said. However, the country’s military burden fell from 2.7 per cent of the Indian GDP in 2010 to 2.4 per cent in 2019. Its rival Pakistan’s military expenditure rose by 70 per cent over the decade to reach $10.3 billion, with the burden rising from 3.4 per cent of GDP in 2010 to 4 per cent in 2019.

World expenses : According to the report, total global military expenditure rose to $1,917 billion dollars in 2019  a 3.6 per cent rise over 2018 and the largest annual growth since 2010, said the SIPRI report. The US’ military spending grew by 5.3 per cent to a total of $732 billion, accounting for 38 per cent of the global spend. The increase in US spending in just 2019 was equivalent to the entirety of Germany’s military expense for the year. “The recent growth in US military spending is largely based on a perceived return to competition between the great powers,” Pieter D. Wezeman, senior researcher at SIPRI, said in the report.  Russia and Saudi Arabia rounded off the top five largest spenders, all of whom accounted for 62 per cent of the global expenditure. (Source: The Print)

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